Lawsuits Against Debt Collectors Drop in Second Half of November

Credit the Thanksgiving holiday, or early Christmas shopping, or a lack of interest from consumer attorneys (it’s not that). But for whatever reason, lawsuits filed by consumers against ARM companies dropped significantly in the second half of November.

According to stats released by WebRecon, consumers filed 454 lawsuits claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in the period Nov. 16-30. Another 40 cases claimed violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In the first half of November, there were 535 FDCPA lawsuits filed along with 72 FCRA cases.

The most likely cause in the drop in suits filed was the Thanksgiving holiday that fell in the reporting period. With courts and law firms closed at least two business days from Nov. 16 to 30, there were fewer days to physically file a suit.

The rest of the stats align with a typical half-month report: repeat filers, while still a high percentage (31.5 percent), are declining, indicating lawyers are doing a better job of bringing in new plaintiffs; the largest metro areas of the country see the most suits filed; and the usual players top the list of the most active consumer plaintiff attorneys.

In all, 9,959 lawsuits claiming violations of the FDCPA have been filed in 2010. In 2009, there were about 8,200 such cases filed.